DRUNKEN DRIVER GETS PROBATION, WORK FURLOUGH

Crash seriously injured woman, 19

San Diego 
A man who caused an alcohol-fueled collision that seriously injured another motorist in Rancho Bernardo last year was placed on probation Friday and ordered to serve a year in work furlough.

Brian LaRose, 39, pleaded guilty in November to driving under the influence causing injury, a felony, and allegations that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, Heidi Wise.

Wise, 19, suffered a head injury, broken ribs, a liver laceration and other injuries in the Aug. 20 crash.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert O’Neill placed LaRose, a married father of two, on probation for five years. While on work furlough, LaRose will be held in custody at night but be allowed to leave during the day to go to work.

If he violates any terms of probation, he could be sent to prison for up to five years.

Court records show the crash occurred shortly after 10 p.m. when LaRose slammed his car into the back of Wise’s vehicle, which was stopped in a left-turn lane on Bernardo Center Drive at Maturin Drive.

When police arrived, they found LaRose trapped in the driver’s seat of his car. He appeared to have only minor injuries. He told police he had been to a bar that night but did not remember the collision. He said he was “just trying to get home.”

An hour and fifteen minutes later, his blood alcohol content measured 0.36 percent, more than four times the legal limit for drivers in California.

LaRose told a probation officer that he had been under stress because of his son’s autism and his long work hours. He drank at two bars that night and failed to attend a meeting to deal with his alcohol abuse.

He told the officer he feels “horribly guilty” about the injuries he caused the victim.

“He was supposed to be attending an (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting that night,” said Deputy District Attorney Chandelle Konstanzer after the Friday hearing. “Instead, he chose to drink and drive.”

The prosecutor had argued that LaRose should be sent to prison. The Probation Department recommended probation and work furlough.

Wise said outside the courtroom that she was happy with the sentence, because it meant LaRose’s family would not suffer because of his actions.

“It’s not the family’s fault,” she said. “The only person I fault is him. I just hope he doesn’t do it again.”

Wise said she continues to suffer from migraine headaches, dizziness and pain in her back and neck. She said she doesn’t remember the collision or anything that happened for about a month afterward.